BENEATH THE SURFACE: VIA LAVA TO LOVE

I bet when I say I write poems, they expect sunshine and flowers of words,
I know it because my smile is all they know me for,
But when I say don't judge a book by its cover, I mean it,
This book has been through fire, loved pink and transformed back to black.

I have walked through fires hotter than lava, they're burning me up to write,
I have faced monsters no book or movie has accurately articulated,
I have drowned in waters so deep, they swallowed me whole,
That is why I smile, because the worst, I have already lived through.

Yet nobody seems to figure me out, all they want from me is sunshine and flowers,
Yes I know that's the appearance, but dig deeper, find the fighter in me,
The one that held on to life when it seemed all too painful and pointless,
The one that held on to the rope, even when it burned and bruised.

Those ugly parts, those are the parts of me that will love and fight for you,
Those are the parts that store the lioness in me, if you're my cub, imma keep you,
If I keep you I will love you fearlessly and fondly, all so deeply it's going to be worthy,
I promise, it's going to be worth all the fire that burnt you to get to me.

And if you really get to me, if you find those weird parts and love them,
It's going to be an epic eternal love story, just like the ones I yearned for,
Because after all of me comes out, loves you, just like you love me,
The beauty is two souls, authentic to each other, for as long as they live.

I will love you for you, listen to your stories of positive news and the weather,
I will laugh at your jokes because, coming from you, every word is beautiful,
And you will listen to my angelic voice sing lullabies to our children,
You will listen to my conspiracy theories, about aliens, purpose of life, the list is endless.

You will not deem my light and I not yours, we will simply be conjoined souls,
When we hug the light will be too illuminating for the world, because it's our souls hugging,
That hug of relief, because you're my home, and I yours,
Thank you, God, for love, it's the only thing that makes this world bearable.